Random Stuff

1. I recently read an interesting blog post about Hell, so I thought I would post a picture of my dog, Oscar, who looks somewhat like a demon. Sometimes I get the impression others find my blog boring so I thought this might spice things up a bit.
2. Last night I saw an old Seinfeld episode in which a character consistently spoke in third person ("Jimmy's new in town...Jimmy likes you too...etc.") and have decided to speak in the third person here and there in this blog. Ivan thinks it is a good idea, do you?
3. Did you know that 1 in 100 American adults are behind bars? That's 230 million adults. Beurocrats blame poverty. Michael Moore blames a dysfunctional health care system. Last night Ivan watched 3:10 to Yuma. Subsequently he had a strange desire to rob a stagecoach to pay off his mortgage. Ivan wanders if that has anything to do with it?
4. Ivan apologizes for not being a faithful blogger recently, but will be putting up three posts (at least) next week on interesting topics--at least they are interesting to him. (The Rapture, Sola Scriptura, and poverty and abortion).
5. Ben Stein has a new documentary coming out on an interesting subject. Unfortunately, the trailer pitches the film with a conspiracy theory flavor. The last conspiracy theory film Ivan watched and all its pseudo-scholarship has Ivan doubting whether he will actually watch Stein's film. If you end up watching it and find it breathtaking, let Ivan know.
6. Tommorrow Russia will elect a successor to Putin, who served two terms characterized by unbridled popularity. There is little contention that Putin's man, Medvedev will win. Ivan finds it relieving to set aside his ethnocentricity and offer up a prayer for an election not so close to home.
7. Abstaining from meat in this Lentin Season has been a bit more difficult than Ivan expected--but far more spiritually centering than he expected.